Dai PRICE USD CHART

DAI is a stablecoin pegged to the value of the US Dollar and is issued as an ERC-20 token by MakerDAO, a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). The MakerDAO community members who hold the MKR token govern the Maker Protocol and hence are responsible for maintaining the smart contracts that power DAI. 

Stablecoins like DAI are cryptocurrencies that offer the price stability of fiat currencies and are compatible with blockchain-based networks, making them ideal for investors looking for a stable asset to park their ideal funds in. Moreover, many decentralized applications allow users to generate returns by lending their stablecoins, thus earning users a passive income on their crypto assets.

DAI is a decentralized, non-custodial stablecoin. While conventional stablecoins like USDC and BUSD maintain price stability by managing actual fiat currency and traditional asset reserves in bank accounts, DAI is collateralized against other cryptocurrencies like ETH or USDC, which makes it more decentralized than fiat-collateralized stablecoins. Its decentralized nature is one of the main reasons DAI is a popular stablecoin, especially among crypto natives. As a result, more than 400 decentralized applications have integrated DAI.

DAI is a decentralized cryptocurrency that does not discriminate, which means that it can be used by anyone, anywhere, and anytime. It is a price-stable cryptocurrency controlled by the members of MakerDAO. The price stability of DAI is maintained with the help of a concept called Collateralized Debt Position (CDP). A smart contract platform built by Maker lets investors enter a CDP, where they deposit collateral in ERC-20 tokens like ETH or USDC to mint new units of DAI stablecoin, which they can use as they please. Once the DAI is returned along with the charged interest, it is burned, and the deposit is released. 

The DAI stablecoin was developed by MakerDAO founded in 2014 by a Danish entrepreneur Rune Christensen. The infrastructure for the token, i.e. the Maker protocol, was launched in December 2017 while the stablecoin DAI was first minted as a token native to the Ethereum blockchain in November 2019. Despite the volatility of ETH in 2018, which was the only asset collateralizing DAI at the time, its price remained surprisingly stable and close to $1. The price stability of DAI during such turbulent times has made it battle-tested, meaning that it can maintain its peg to the US Dollar even when the crypto markets are experiencing mass liquidations.

The only significant instance of a price disparity between DAI and the dollar had been at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, when rapid deleveraging of DAI caused its price to shoot up to $1.1 for some time but soon recovered back to $1 owing to its robust monetary policy.

DAI is issued on the Ethereum blockchain, one of the most secure and decentralized smart contract platforms in Decentralized Finance (DeFi). DAI leverages the security of the Ethereum network by having transactions involving DAI be recorded on the Ethereum public ledger.

The non-custodial collateralization mechanism of DAI has been battle-tested through numerous instances of harsh economic conditions. Its price peg with the US Dollar has survived periods of intense volatility and exceptional supply and demand differences, making it one of the most reliable stablecoins in the ecosystem.

DAI has a major advantage over fiat-collateralized stablecoins as it does not require the maintenance of physical fiat dollar reserves in bank accounts to guarantee its peg with US Dollar. Backed by other cryptocurrencies, DAI is also not subject to potential regulatory headwinds from the Federal Reserve.

While the token economics of DAI, its price stability mechanism, and its historical resilience against market instability give the stablecoin a lot of conviction about its long-term security, the integrity of the crypto wallet used to hold DAI is another link that could compromise user’s funds. 

The most conventional platform used for storing stablecoins like DAI is centralized exchanges (CEXs). CEXs are not ideal for investors seeking anonymity and sovereign control over their digital assets as they demand KYC information to register to their platform and then do not share the private keys to the wallets that hold the user’s funds. Even transacting on decentralized exchanges (DEXs) poses risks when used with online/hot wallets that are connected to the internet, making them susceptible to online scams and malware that can leak sensitive information like private keys.

The most secure method of storing stablecoins is hardware/cold wallets, like the ones offered by Ledger. Hardware wallets store private keys in separate, physical storage devices cut off from the internet and, therefore, inaccessible for scammers and malware.

Ledger lets its users simultaneously purchase and transfer the bought DAI into the Ledger hardware wallet, thus providing sovereign control over the user’s private keys. Ledger Live lets users directly manage and track their investments’ performance with a desktop and mobile application.

The process to use Ledger services is pretty simple. It even enables the use of a PayPal account or Debit/Credit card for the purchase of DAI. Follow the following simple steps:

1. Get a Ledger hardware wallet.
2. Download and install Ledger web or mobile application.
3. Connect the Ledger app with the Ledger hardware wallet.
4. Install the Ethereum application from the app catalog.
5. Create a DAI account.
6. Start buying DAI using Ledger Live.

Users also can swap or trade DAI on Ledger Live for other cryptocurrencies for a dynamic and diversified portfolio that maximizes returns. The hundred of swap pairs available on Ledger can be accessed as follows:

1. Get a Ledger Hardware Wallet.
2. Download Ledger Live.
3. Install the ‘Exchange’ application on Ledger Live, along with the applications for the coins you wish to swap.
4. One must have DAI in the linked hardware wallet to facilitate the swap.
5. Once there are sufficient assets in the wallet, swapping is possible.